Forum - View topicIshura (TV).
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24477 |
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Episode 2
Given the number of characters in both the OP & ED that I don't recognize, I'm guessing we are in for another full cours of introductions. Like I say, I don't mind. The characters and their powers are fun. I've mentally accepted that the concept of a tournament to determine a hero is never going to come. So Linaris the Vamp, eh? Cool. I wonder if she and Psianop the Inexhaustible Stagnation will ever throw down? (Yes, the latter is an actual character name that I plucked from the cast list... you can't make this stuff up.) |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3022 |
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S2 #2
From one extreme to the other, this week's contender really shines the higher the number of mundane opponents sent against her. It does mean her biggest weakness is anyone or anything which is immune to her thrall-inducing pheromones, which is why she keeps the cadre of elite bodyguards on the off chance she is in close proximity to an opponent she cannot control. That would mean defeating her would take someone like Mele, whose long-range artillery bombardment might be enough to wipe her out in one stroke if she and everyone else under her control is in one area and caught unawares. Linares aside, the episode does feature Kuuro again as he does some grunt detective work on behalf of his employer. The whole episode is geared around the mysterious organization Obsidian, which Linares is now de facto head of and which Kuuro used to be a part of. Not much more known about Linares's organization other than its far-reaching influence and its ability to recruit non-human agents unhappy with the empire's oppression of minorities. Linares might have punched her ticket to the games through manipulation of one of the empire's ruling 28, but I'm not sure if she's allowed to "cheat" and bring in her entire entourage to the arena if she makes it to the competition proper. If this season is anything like the first one, the ensemble cast of contenders will be culled with some left over to continue the journey to the competition. Linares has a good chance of making it, but it depends on what kind of opposition the franchise throws at her before she can formally be registered. We sometimes get episodes with two titles, and next week is another example. Expecting the pace to pick up as the new OP and ED animations show A LOT of contenders this season. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4179 |
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Knowing what I know of the series, I think "Can Linaris even fight?" and knowing what I know of vampires, there's also "can Linaris ever lose?'
Calling the people Linaris creates "corpses" is either a brilliant bit of misdirection or an idea of how far her infection goes... I think calling her a "necromancer" would be closer but regardless, her ability is science based and not magic based and it's certainly not limitation based. "Thrall inducing pheromones?" I thought it was being spread via air born bacteriological infection... probably emanating from her father... and it makes the affected into zombies lik what parasitic wasps do to insects. As to what she can do on her own remains unknown... though the fact she's seeking this fight would suggest that it's not just one thing, There's also the question of "how did the state learn this much about this infection in the first place?" |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3022 |
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S2 #3
Two contenders introduced in this episode, but I fancy the latter has better chances of progressing far unless its gimmick is identified and dealt with to permanently finish it off. The master of demon swords is an inherited title, which is why the arms dealer never imagined the stash of weapons would still be guarded by its master. The bandit and his lackeys found out to their cost "grave robbing" isn't profitable if the owner isn't actually dead. Toroa's speciality is that huge stash of magic weapons, so versality is the selling point. Unfortunately he's just human (albeit a very strong and skilled one) and catching him unawares before he can deploy the correct defensive weapon should be enough to finish him off. Alus from season one pulled it off after all as he's also got his own box of tricks, so it's likely the "rematch" between the two is for this season or subsequent adaptations if this quarter doesn't make it to the tournament proper. We've seen mechanical foes in this franchise already (the spider robot defeated by Soujirou), but this week's new contestant takes it to a different level. Easily the most durable of the contestants introduced to date, it grinds its opponents down through sheer attrition since death and annihilation seemingly do not apply. For all of its gifts, I suspect the creator is a weakness and getting her killed with the golem present might present an opening. The golem itself has the mental age of a child, so that's probably another opening for any potential opponent to exploit. Regardless, unless a way is found to somehow destroy both components AND stop the spell-casting long enough for the regeneration and resurrection to be permanently disrupted this is the clear favourite for the tournament (vampire hypnosis likely won't work and the giant can't do much with his current set of tools). The storm the inventor talks about features next week, and it's part 1 to boot. I wonder what's to come? |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3022 |
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S2 #4
The countdown which has been going on since the start of the season finally has a meaning: the sentient all-destroying storm makes a path towards areas or individuals with power and then annihilates everything. I very much doubt this storm is going to be part of the competition, but it will serve as a gatekeeper as it will surely whittle down at least one of the contestants introduced to date. The Empire has been expecting the sentient storm for some time now, hence the deployment of soldiers for ostensibly humanitarian evacuation efforts. If they do not stop or divert the storm, it will eventually head towards the capital and all of their efforts to date will be for nothing with their foes victorious without having to risk open battle. Although they've pinned their hopes on Kuuro, it seems the storm will meet its match against the indestructible regenerating golem or the master of enchanted blades. I'm not entirely sure how the storm serves the main plot beyond cutting down at least one or both of the contenders. Perhaps its permanent abatement will impact the geopolitical landscape since the Empire is investing considerable resources into mitigating its impact. Perhaps viewers will learn more after next week's episode. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2943 |
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What both this season and the previous one have taught me is that it must suck to live in the world of Ishura as a common citizen. There are so many monstrously powerful beings in that world and if one just happens to come around your neck of the woods then it gets wiped off the map.
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4179 |
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I don't doubt. The combatants seem focused not on objects or even being alive but just sentience and a passing storm passing that bare minimum of a bar is too much of a coincidence. Next episode: the backstory of a storm. How mundane will it turn out to be? |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3022 |
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S2 #5
Well this was unexpected. It turns out the Storm is the one who is annihilated, and through the efforts of all of the other contestants introduced to date. As the saying goes, if something can bleed it can be killed. Since it's a heavily armoured magic-wielding Wyrm generating the storm rather than a force of nature, then there are definite means of killing it. Just about everyone bar the casual viewer is aware of the beast's true nature as well, which is why so many different approaches could be used. The empire opted for a combined arms approach, with Kuuro as spotter and Mele as artillery. This eventually did the job at first glance, but the pressure on Kuuro was too much because he knew he was going to be killed once he had outlived his usefulness. Also, the disruptiveness from the generated storm obscured the wyrm's body enough for Mele's shots to avoid critical hits. The golem's approach was to borrow from modern technology. Since the wyrm is supposedly covered head to toe in thick armour akin to metal, heatwave weapons to cook it alive from the inside-out would work eventually but would be too slow. Turns out the wyrm didn't appreciate the discomfort either and chose to dig underground to escape the beams. Toroa had the weapon to divert the effects of the storm, and he would have used the Blasting Blade he was fighting to reclaim to kill the wyrm itself. However we don't actually see this happen, but I don't doubt he would have done it if he was allowed to do so. Linares dealing the finishing blow is the most left-field development of the episode. Somehow the wyrm managed to find its way into a deserted swamp with only her as company, but she managed to completely annihilate him by ironically using his powers against him. She too has a personal grudge against the wyrm, and it dates way back to episode one with the girl at the sacrificial altar. Linares didn't really have the combat ability to face Atrazek head-on, so this was probably the only way she could have been worked into this episode. Plot-wise too many hoops to jump through to get to the conclusion, but there's a lot of spectacle for visual entertainment as Toroa and Mestexil can only draw their battle and the remaining airtime is devoted to finishing off the wyrm instead. Probably the best battle royale episode the franchise has done to date including the first season, and if they can keep it up to the end of the quarter that might be good enough for most viewers. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4179 |
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I guess we're going to keep disagreeing about Linares, until she has herself set up, ready to start confronting enemies out in the open.
What I got from the end of the episode: Oh wow, she's going to add a magical particle dragon to her undead army... no, instead she uses her control of it to have it self-terminate as an act of revenge. I would think using its dead corpse against its will would be enough of a revenge but I guess she just didn't need it. Also.... she was walking on water. I don't what her powers are but they don't seem to be vampiric. The rest of the episode is more status quo I would have liked... except for Toroa going out of his way to save Kuuro because Kuuro is good. I kind of feel noble actions are more likely to get these guys killed but we'll find out. |
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